Submitted by Friendly_Listen6216 t3_yjprhp in jerseycity
I just got back from Newport mall. In the food court, a homeless man came up to me and asked for money, but I said no. Then a few minutes later, he came up to me again and asked for money. He said "don't worry, I won't hurt you", which kind of scared me, so I offered him $2 just to get him off my back. But then he said $2 isn't enough and that he wants $20. I said $20 is too much and that he can just take the $2. He keeps trying to get me to give him $20, and he keeps grabbing my hands and putting his arm around me, while hiding his right hand, which was freaking me out. I want to leave, but I'm afraid he might have a knife in his right pocket, so I'm just waiting for him to stop touching me so I can leave. But he starts getting angry at me for "wasting his time" and not giving him the $20. Then he says "I won't hurt you if you give me $20", which I think activated my flight response because after that I immediately ran away without even thinking. He follows me which freaks me out, but then stops and stares at me when I go to a cashier to ask where I can find security.
Maybe I was overthinking the situation, but I was genuinely afraid he might try to stab me. Next time this happens, I'm running away after the first 5 seconds if they don't leave me alone.
kittyglitther t1_iup3to8 wrote
>so I offered him $2 just to get him off my back
Mistake 1.
Is it just me or are we getting weekly "I'm new to planet earth and escalated a situation with a homeless person" posts now? Or is it just because that one post from the guy who took a homeless guy to an ATM lives rent free in my head?